The deepest freshwater lake in the world - Baikal.
Geography and Hydrography
Has the shape of a crescent. Its length is about 630 km, its width ranges from 24 to 80 km. The surface area of the lake is just over 31.7 thousand square kilometers, which is comparable to the area of countries such as Denmark, Belgium or the Netherlands.
The lake is located in a giant basin-basin, surrounded in the west by rocky ridges, in the east - by gentle hills. The maximum depth of the lake is 1642 m, the average depth is 745 m.
Baikal is the most significant reservoir in the world in terms of fresh water reserves - 23.6 thousand cubic meters. Also, this lake is the oldest on Earth. Its age, according to scientists, ranges from 25-30 million years. The most amazing thing is that the shores of the lake are gradually diverging, expanding at a rate of 2 cm per year.
The lake is fed by about 350 rivers and streams (data has not been specified since the end of the 19th century), the largest of which are Upper Angara, Selenga, Barguzin, Sarma, Snezhnaya and Turka. Only 1 river flows out of Baikal - Angara.
The lake is located in a seismically active zone.
Water, flora and fauna
Baikal water, despite the difficult ecological situation in the region, remains today the cleanest in the world. It contains very few dissolved minerals, organics and a lot of oxygen. By its composition, it is practically distilled. This is the only body of water on the planet from which you can drink water today without purification and boiling.
The water is so transparent that in the spring, when the vegetation of the lake has not yet awakened, the bottom is good, like through glass, can be seen at a depth of 40 m.
The lake owes its purity to a microscopic crustacean - the Baikal epishura. The maximum size of 1 crustacean is no more than 1.5 mm, they are endemic, they live exclusively in the waters of Lake Baikal. They are the most important component of the ecosystem of the lake. In a year, up to 10 times the entire gigantic mass of lake water is passed through itself, filtering and purifying it.
The water temperature in the lake ranges from 0 to +20 degrees.
The lake itself is inhabited by more than 2600 species of plants and animals, almost all of which are endemic, i.e. are found nowhere else in the world - seal, omul, golomyanka, Baikal sturgeon, whitefish, grayling, yellowfly and others.
The coastal zone is also extremely rich in various representatives of flora and fauna - Siberian cedar, stilted trees, relict spruce, Barguzin sable, Olkhon vole, musk deer, Asian bodew and many other unique inhabitants.
Mysteries of Lake Baikal
The lake is a unique natural area in its characteristics. Not only Russian, but also American, European and Japanese scientists are at a loss when faced with unusual phenomena:
ice hills in the form of hollow cones, characteristic only of Lake Baikal,
migrating huge dark rings forming under the ice,
mirages - optical illusion, for which no satisfactory explanation has yet been found.
The most, the most ...
Baikal is the most
deep,
full-flowing,
old,
clean,
significant in terms of fresh water reserves
lake in the world.
Address: Russia, Republic of Buryatia, Irkutsk region
Square: 31,722 km²
Maximum depth: 1642 m
Transparency: 40 m
Coordinates: 53 ° 43 "36.9" N 108 ° 27 "32.4" E
The purest and, without a doubt, the most beautiful lake Baikal rightfully took its place in the list of 7 wonders of Russia, according to a vote held in 2008.
Fascinating with its pristine nature and mysteriousness, the lake is located almost in the very center of Asia on the border of Buryatia and the Irkutsk region. The water surface, which shimmers with mystical light, stretches for 620 (!) Kilometers from north-east to south-west.
If we consider the images of Lake Baikal taken from space, then we can note that it has the shape of a crescent. The width of the lake in its various places ranges from 24 to 79 kilometers... Such dimensions allow local residents and many tourists call Baikal not a lake, but a sea.
No matter how much one would like to call this majestic reservoir of fresh water the sea, it is still a lake, which is surrounded on almost all sides by the most picturesque mountains and hills. extinct volcanoes... By the way, the supply of fresh water in Lake Baikal is 90% of the total supply drinking water Russia and almost 20% of the total supply of the purest and, according to the results of many scientific experiments, healing water in the world. Speaking about Lake Baikal, one cannot but say that it is considered the deepest in the world: the lake's mirror is located 453 meters above the level of the World Ocean, and its bottom is almost 1170 meters lower. True, many researchers are skeptical that Baikal is the most deep lake on our planet. When calculating the depth of lakes, many scientists forget about those reservoirs of fresh water that are under eternal ice Antarctica, one of which is called Vostok. True, it is hidden by an almost 4-kilometer layer of ice, and the calculation of the depth of lakes and the ocean in glaciers should be carried out according to completely different parameters.
Unique ecosystem
Alas, modern science cannot yet accurately answer the question of how old is Baikal, however, as well as other questions that are constantly posed to scientists by this amazing lake... At the moment, it is generally accepted that Baikal, with an area of almost 32,000 square kilometers, originated at least 25 million years ago. There are more daring assumptions, some scientists believe that the age of the lake is more than 35 million years. This is a long period of time, even by the standards of the existence of our planet. True, it is these figures that pose a new problem: how did the lake remain practically in its original form for so many years? The point is that any lake does not "live" for more than 15, maximum 20,000 years. Its bottom is covered with silt and over time it turns into an ordinary swamp. This is not observed in Lake Baikal. Maybe it is worth paying special attention to the point of view of the authoritative scientist Tatarinov, who in 2009 put forward the idea that Baikal has existed "while" "only" 8,000 years old.
Which theory is considered reliable, everyone decides for himself: the conclusions of most experts say that the whole point is in the unique ecosystem of the lake in its tributaries and the only outflow, as well as in constant earthquakes, as a result of which a vacuum appears at depths, filling with fresh »Underground waters.
Due to its purity, Lake Baikal and its surroundings are a favorite habitat for a huge number of species of birds and mammals. Many of the animals, birds and fish are endemic, which means that they only live in this ecosystem and are not found anywhere else in the world. Fish golomyanka, which belongs to the viviparous family, attracts special attention of ichthyologists. And this fish is another mystery of Lake Baikal. Firstly, the whole body of this fish is more than 30% fat, and secondly, this fish lives at very great depths, and goes into shallow water for food. This is not at all typical for deep-sea fish, because sudden pressure drops in almost all species lead to death. Another representative of the ichthyofauna is the smallest crustacean, called Epishura. It is also endemic to the lake. Without it, life in Baikal would certainly have perished, because it is the main food for many fish and it is he, who multiplies in incredible quantities, filters the water of Lake Baikal, purifying it from organic matter. Maybe it is in this crustacean that the secret of such a long "life" of the lake lies ...
Lake Baikal water
Even elementary schoolchildren know about the purity of the water of Lake Baikal. Teachers who talk about the nature of our planet often emphasize that you can drink water from Lake Baikal even without boiling it. By the way, the opinion is rather controversial. Naturally, there are many places where the water in the lake not only does not pose a threat to human health, but is also considered healing. The tourism infrastructure, which is constantly developing and thousands of tourists who want to see the great Baikal, like many other lakes around the world, is becoming more and more. Only an experienced guide who lives near the lake can indicate where to drink from Baikal is completely safe. Surprisingly, despite the presence of stone deposits and tributaries at the bottom, including the Selenga River, which is constantly polluted on the territory of Mongolia, the water in Baikal practically does not contain dissolved salts and minerals. Simply put - it is almost identical to distilled water, which undergoes multi-level purification in special laboratories.
The lake is so transparent that, according to some researchers, in some parts of the lake you can see the bottom from a boat in great detail at a depth of 40 meters.
Such transparency of the water can be observed after the ice melts: usually in early spring, the water of Lake Baikal turns bright blue. In summer and autumn, when the water warms up, microplankton and algae begin to develop in it in small quantities: naturally, at this moment it is already quite difficult to distinguish the pitfalls at a depth of 40 meters, however, the transparency is striking even at these times of the year. True, its color changes: it does not turn into muddy green, on the contrary, it becomes pale turquoise.
Immerse yourself in affectionate and the purest waters Baikal ... - a dream! True, a dream only for those who know very little about this lake. The point is that the water here does not warm up even in summer above +9 degrees Celsius. Only in small and shallow bays can one expect that the water will warm up to +16 under the sun. Therefore, swim in Baikal and see underwater world through crystal-clear water is possible only in a diving suit. In winter, the water mirror is almost completely covered with thick ice, so thick that in the 19th century, sleepers were installed on the ice and steam locomotives were transported across Lake Baikal with the help of horses. The ice on the lake is an amazing sight: during severe frosts, cracks pass along it, the length of which is sometimes 30 (!) Kilometers, and their width is 3 meters.
During the formation of such a crack, a strong sound is heard throughout all the environs of Lake Baikal, which can only be compared with a howitzer shot or a thunderclap from lightning striking the ground several meters away from a person. Such a phenomenon was foreseen by nature itself, thanks to the formation of such cracks, the water is constantly saturated with oxygen and the flora and fauna of Lake Baikal does not perish in severe frosts.
The origin of the name of the lake
As with the age of Lake Baikal, confusion has arisen with its name in scientific circles. In any case, some historians agree that the name "Baikal" comes from one of the Asian languages: Mongolian, Yakut, or Turkic... However, there are versions that the lake was first seen and named ... by the Chinese. The Chinese word that sounds like "Bei-Hai" is translated literally - "North Sea". This opinion also deserves attention: does not a majestic lake look like the North Sea? Most of the experts trying to solve the riddle of the origin of the name of the deepest lake in the world believe that it originated from the Buryat language.
Buryats called the endless water surface"Baigal", but the members of the Russian expedition, who participated in the trip to the lake in the 17th century, could hardly cope with the letter "g" and, without thinking twice, replaced it with "k". This is how the name of Lake Baikal came about. Although, as mentioned above, none of the listed versions is recognized by the scientific world as reliable and proven.
On Baikal
No matter how many legends and myths are associated with this lake, no matter how many scientific disputes about its name and origin, all this instantly loses its meaning when you find yourself in front of the amazing mirror of Lake Baikal. He is calm, then suddenly heaves in waves. The surrounding nature defies description, here on a calm day, despite the singing of birds and the barely audible breath of the wind, you come to the realization of what real silence, peace and tranquility are. It seems that Baikal communicates on a subconscious level with everyone who came to see this majestic lake. It is not without reason that many travelers who have explored Lake Baikal are looking forward to the moment when they will be able to return to this wonderful world, which is more than 25 million years old.
Baikal- exactly this ancient lake in the world. Its age is about 30 million years. During this period, the formation of Baikal was accompanied by earthquakes, ups and downs of huge areas of the earth's surface.
Baikal- the deepest of all lakes on our planet. Its maximum depth is 1637 m. In the literature, you can find various values of its maximum depth, for example, 1642 m or even 1647 m. In 1991, the deepest point of the lake, 1637 meters, was found on the deep-water manned vehicle Paysis. It is located south of the cape Izhimei of Olkhon Island.
In 2008 and 2009, the researchers on the Mir submersibles re-examined the most deep places Lake Baikal and came to the conclusion that the maximum depth of the lake still remains the same - 1637 m.
In terms of water volume, Baikal is in first place among freshwater lakes in the world. It contains 23,000 km3 of water. This is about 20% of the surface fresh water Lands, or about 80% of the surface fresh waters of Russia, excluding glaciers. The reserves of surface fresh waters in Russia account for about 30% of the reserves of surface fresh waters of the Earth. Surface fresh waters include waters of fresh lakes, reservoirs, rivers and swamps. This list does not include underground fresh water, as well as glaciers, both underground and above ground.
In the waters Baikal more than 2,500 species and subspecies of animals and more than 1,000 species and varieties of plants live.
More than 50% of animal species live only in Lake Baikal and are not found anywhere else. Among them are the smallest crustacean Epishura, bottom crustaceans Gammarus, freshwater sponges, giant bottom worms, fish - omul, sturgeon, golomyanka, yellowfly, long-winged, and of course, the Baikal seal - the seal.
The Baikal coast is famous throughout the world for its unusually beautiful landscapes, magnificent bays and bays.
The listed characteristics of Lake Baikal are so amazing and unusual that in 1996 the lake was included in the UNESCO List of World Natural Heritage Sites. Inclusion in the list means that the governments of the countries - owners of these objects and each individual must be especially careful with them and protect them from pollution and destruction.
The size of Lake Baikal can be compared with the size of some European states. Baikal's area is comparable to the area European state Belgium.
Are there lakes on Earth similar to Lake Baikal? Yes there is. Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Tanganyika is also an ancient reservoir, and its shape is very similar to Baikal - the same elongated one. Square Tanganyika larger than the area of Lake Baikal. The lake is located in the tropics, the water in it is warm. And more bacteria and algae multiply in warm water than in the cold waters of Lake Baikal. Therefore, the transparency of the water in the lake is low, and the water is less suitable for drinking.
Lake Upper in the USA and Canada. It is also often compared to Baikal. The area of Lake Verkhnee is larger than the area of Lake Baikal, but it is much smaller and younger. Lake Superior is only 10 thousand years old.
More than others, a lake looks like Baikal Khubsugul... It is located in the Baikal rift zone, it is distinguished by the same pure and clear water, a wide variety of animals and flora... Khovsgul is several times smaller than Baikal. The volume of water in Khubsugul is 383 km3, which is more than 60 times less than the volume of water in Lake Baikal. Khovsgul and Baikal are connected by a system of rivers.
The Egin-Gol River flows out of the Khubsugul, it carries its waters to the Selenga River, and the Selenga flows into Baikal. Therefore, Khubsugul is often called the younger brother of Lake Baikal.
Comparative characteristics of some large lakes in the world
Baikal stretches from southwest to northeast for 636 km. Is it a lot or a little? Compare on the map of Russia: the length of the lake is equal to the distance between the two famous cities our Motherland - between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The maximum width of Baikal is 81 km, it is located opposite the Barguzinsky Bay, the minimum width is 27 km - at the confluence of the Selenga River.
Length coastline lakes - 2000 km. It will take almost 4.5 months to get around Baikal. This will be a very difficult journey, as in some places the impassable rocks come close to the coast, and you will have to bypass them.
Main characteristics of Lake Baikal
Cartographic base. Lake Baikal map.
Atlas “Lake Baikal. Past. The present. Future". FSUE "VostSib AGP", 2005.
Baikal is filled with waters of more than 300 rivers, streams and streams. In the literature you can find data, for example, that 544 tributaries, or 1123 tributaries, flow into Baikal. These results were obtained by counting not the tributaries themselves, but the mountain gullies shown in geographical maps... And along the creeks flow both permanent and temporary watercourses. In dry years, they can dry out, in years with heavy rains, they can again be filled with water. Therefore, the number of tributaries is not constant.
Baikal is a freshwater lake in the south of Eastern Siberia, it stretches from 53 to 56 ° N. and from 104 to 109 ° 30''E. Its length is 636 km, and the coastline is 2100 km. The width of the lake varies from 25 to 79 km. The total area of the lake (mirror area) is 31,500 sq. Km.
Baikal is the deepest lake in the world (1620 m). It contains the largest reserves of fresh water on earth - 23 thousand cubic kilometers, which is 1/10 of the world's fresh water supply. A complete change of such a huge amount of water in Lake Baikal has been taking place for 332 years.
This is one of the oldest lakes, its age is 15 - 20 million years.
336 rivers flow into the lake, including the Selenga, Barguzin, Upper Angara, and only one Angapa flows out. There are 27 islands on Lake Baikal, the largest of which is Olkhon. The lake freezes in January, opens up in May.
Baikal lies in a deep tectonic depression and is surrounded by mountain ranges covered with taiga; the area around the lake has a complex, deeply dissected relief. Near Lake Baikal, the strip of mountains is noticeably expanding. Mountain ranges stretch here parallel to one another in the direction from northwest to southeast and are separated by basin-like depressions, along the bottom of which rivers flow and in some places lakes are located. The height of most of the ranges of Transbaikalia rarely exceeds 1300 - 1800, but the highest ranges reach high values. For example, xp. Khamar-Daban (Sokhor peak) - 2 304 m, and the Barguzinsky ridge. about 3000 m.
Tectonic movements continue here to this day. This is evidenced by frequent earthquakes in the region of the basin, outcrops of hot springs and, finally, sinking of significant parts of the coast.
The waters of Lake Baikal are blue-green in color, are distinguished by exceptional purity and transparency, often even greater than in the ocean: you can clearly see stones and thickets of greenish algae lying at a depth of 10-15 m, and a white disk immersed in the water is visible at a depth of 40 m.
Baikal lies in the temperate zone.
Geography of Lake Baikal.
Lake Baikal is located in the south of Eastern Siberia. In the form of a nascent crescent, Baikal stretches from southwest to northeast between 55 ° 47 ′ and 51 ° 28 ′ north latitude and 103 ° 43 ′ and 109 ° 58 ′ east longitude. The length of the lake is 636 km, the maximum width in the central part is 81 km, the minimum width opposite the Selenga delta is 27 km. Baikal is located at an altitude of 455 m above sea level. The length of the coastline is about 2000 km. The area of the water table, determined at the water edge of 454 m above sea level, is 31,470 square kilometers. The maximum depth of the lake is 1637 m, average depth- 730 m. 336 permanent rivers and streams flow into Baikal, while the Selenga brings half of the water flowing into the lake. The only river that flows out of Baikal is the Angara. However, the question of the number of rivers flowing into Baikal is rather controversial, most likely there are fewer of them than 336. There is no doubt that Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, the closest contender for this title, african lake Tanganyika is 200 meters behind. There are 22 islands on Lake Baikal, although, as mentioned above, there is no unanimity on this issue. Most large island- Olkhon.
Age of Lake Baikal.
Usually the age of the lake is given in the literature as 20-25 million years. In fact, the question of the age of Lake Baikal should be considered open, since the use of various methods for determining the age gives values from 20-30 million to several tens of thousands of years. Apparently, the first estimate is closer to the truth - Baikal is in fact a very ancient lake.
It is believed that Baikal arose as a result of tectonic forces. Tectonic processes are still going on, which is manifested in the increased seismicity of the Baikal region. If we assume that the age of Baikal is indeed several tens of millions of years, then this is the oldest lake on Earth.
Origin of name.
Numerous scientific studies have been devoted to the problem of the origin of the word "Baikal", which indicates a lack of clarity in this issue. There are about a dozen possible explanations for the origin of the name. Among them, the most likely is the version of the origin of the name of the lake from the Turkic-speaking Bai-Kul - a rich lake. Of the other versions, two more can be noted: from the Mongolian Baigal - rich fire and Baigal Dalai - big lake... The peoples who lived on the shores of the lake called Baikal in their own way. Evenks, for example, - Lamu, Buryats - Baigal-Nuur, even the Chinese had a name for Baikal - Beihai - North Sea.
The Evenk name Lamu - More was used for several years by the first Russian explorers in the 17th century, then they switched to the Buryat Baigal, slightly softening the letter "g" by phonetic substitution. Quite often Baikal is called the sea, simply out of respect, for its violent disposition, for the fact that the distant opposite shore often hides somewhere in the haze ... At the same time, the Maloye More and the Big Sea are distinguished. Small Sea is located between the northern coast of Olkhon and the mainland, everything else is the Big Sea.
Baikal water.
Baikal water is unique and amazing, like Baikal itself. It is extraordinarily transparent, clean and oxygenated. In not so ancient times, it was considered curative, with its help diseases were treated. In spring, the transparency of Baikal water, measured with the Secchi disk (a white disk with a diameter of 30 cm), is 40 m (for comparison, in the Sargasso Sea, which is considered the standard of transparency, this value is 65 m). Later, when the mass bloom of algae begins, the transparency of the water decreases, but in calm weather, the bottom is visible from the boat at a fairly decent depth. This high transparency is explained by the fact that Baikal water, due to the activity of living organisms inhabiting it, is very weakly mineralized and close to distilled. The volume of water in Lake Baikal is about 23 thousand cubic kilometers, which is 20% of the world's fresh water reserves.
Climate.
The climate in Eastern Siberia is sharply continental, but the huge mass of water contained in Baikal and its mountainous surroundings create an extraordinary microclimate. Baikal works as a large thermal stabilizer - it is warmer in winter and a little cooler in summer than, for example, in Irkutsk, located 60 km from the lake. The temperature difference is usually around 10 degrees. Forests growing almost on the entire coast of Lake Baikal make a significant contribution to this effect.
The influence of Lake Baikal is not limited only to temperature regulation. Due to the fact that the evaporation of cold water from the surface of the lake is very insignificant, clouds over Baikal cannot form. In addition, the air masses that bring clouds from the land heat up when passing the coastal mountains, and the clouds dissipate. As a result most of time over Baikal, the sky is clear. This is also evidenced by the numbers: the number of hours of sunshine in the area of Olkhon Island is 2277 hours (for comparison - at the Riga seaside in 1839, in Abastumani (Caucasus) - 1994). You should not think that the sun always shines over the lake - if you are not lucky, you can run into one, or even two weeks of disgusting rainy weather even in the sunniest place of Lake Baikal - on Olkhon, but this happens extremely rarely.
The average annual water temperature on the surface of the lake is + 4 ° С. Near the coast in summer the temperature reaches + 16-17 ° С, in shallow bays up to + 22-23 ° С.
Wind and waves.
The wind blows on Lake Baikal almost always. More than thirty local wind names are known. This does not mean at all that there are so many different winds on Lake Baikal, it is just that many of them have several names. The peculiarity of the Baikal winds is that almost all of them, almost always blow along the coast and there are not as many shelters from them as we would like.
Prevailing winds: northwestern, often called mountain, northeastern (barguzin and verkhovik, aka Angara), southwestern (kultuk), southeastern (shelonnik). The maximum wind speed recorded at Lake Baikal is 40 m / s. In the literature, there are also large values - up to 60 m / s, but there is no reliable evidence of this.
Where there is wind, there are waves, as you know. Immediately, I note that the opposite is not true - a wave can occur even with complete calm. Waves on Lake Baikal can reach a height of 4 meters. Sometimes values of 5 and even 6 meters are given, but this is most likely an estimate "by eye", which has a very large error, usually in the direction of overestimation. The height of 4 meters was obtained using instrumental measurements in the open sea. The excitement is most intense in autumn and spring. In summer, strong excitement is rare on Lake Baikal, and calm often occurs.
The largest natural reservoir of freshwater water is located in Russia, on the territory of Eastern Siberia. Its shores and waters belong to the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia.
The most convenient way to get to Lake Baikal is from Irkutsk - there are many types of transport and only 70 km to the lake. Ulan-Ude is located much further, and there are much fewer options for communication.
The climatic zone in which Baikal is located is a temperate zone, however, due to the amazing and unique shape, bottom topography and coastline, the deepest lake of the planet is divided into three separate parts - South, Middle and North. Moreover, each of these zones has its own natural and climatic characteristics, each is characterized by unique flora and.
The beauty of Lake Baikal, the special energy of this place, the unique flora and fauna, as well as the opportunity to go diving, hunting, fishing, photography, etc., attract millions of tourists from all over the world here.
The length of Baikal from north to south is almost 600 km, and the maximum depth of the reservoir is 1620 m. This is the deepest lake on the planet Earth.
There are two main ways to get to the lake: by plane or by railroad. By air you can fly from almost any major airport Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Vladivostok, etc.) and by direct flight or with a transfer to arrive in Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude.
Similarly with by rail: from almost any corner of Russia, regardless of the significance and size of a city or a village, you can directly or on the cross-over to get to the administrative centers of the Irkutsk region or the Republic of Buryatia.
It is noteworthy that in Africa there is a "twin brother" of Baikal - Lake Tanganyika. It is also distinguished by the uniqueness of the ecosystem, it has a similar shape to its Siberian counterpart, only its semicircle is turned in the opposite direction.
The distance from Moscow to Irkutsk by rail is almost 5,200 km. High-speed train overcomes it in 3.5-4 days.
Both Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk are located several tens of kilometers from Lake Baikal, and from these cities you can get to the lake by taxi, electric trains and trains, by shuttle taxi or the bus. In summer, yachts and motor ships go to the lake from Irkutsk, from the Raketa pier.
